Fans of Overwatch 2 have reacted with disappointment after Blizzard announced that the game's upcoming hero, Ramattra, will only be available to players who progress to tier 55 of the Season 2 battle pass - or as an instant unlock for fans who purchase the premium Season 2 battle pass. The next season's tank hero has taken the Overwatch 2 community by storm after his recent reveal during the Overwatch League Grand Finals.
Ramattra's announcement came as a surprise to many Overwatch 2 fans who had suspected Mauga to be the next tank hero for the game. Ramattra, the Omnic leader of Null Sector, was revealed to be Overwatch 2's next addition to the hero roster just the other day after Blizzard released the hero's origin story. The trailer describes Ramattra as a character determined to create a better world for his Omnic brothers and to save them from the cruelty inflicted upon them by mankind.
A Reddit post from the user MrDitkovichNeedsRent expresses their discontent with Blizzard's decision to limit access to the imminent hero, along with a screenshot from The Omnic Post which shares the news of Blizzard's choice to lock the character behind the battle pass. Unlike with the game's most recently added hero, Kiriko, even veteran Overwatch players who came from the original game will not have instant access to the hero unless they buy the premium battle pass.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time fans have been upset over Blizzard's decision to restrict access to new heroes. The launch period for Overwatch 2 saw the same issue, with the newest hero, Kiriko, only being instantly accessible for veteran players or owners of the premium Season 1 battle pass. While the friend of the Fox Spirit would still be available to all players upon reaching tier 55 of the free battle pass, much of the community was nonetheless disappointed that Kiriko wasn't just available for everyone from the get-go.
Now, players are even angrier that Blizzard has repeated this decision despite the community's feedback. Although the developers usually make newly-added heroes unavailable in ranked games for the first few weeks while players learn to master the character's abilities, many fans still think it unfair that only players who pay get early access to new heroes. While Overwatch 2's transition to a free-to-play game has made it accessible to many more players, it has inevitably made the sale of cosmetics and battle passes more of a focus when it comes to monetization.
The consequences of Overwatch 2's status as a free-to-play title have been dividing for much of the community, though fans still hold onto hope that Blizzard takes the community's criticism into account going forward. For now, only fans willing to pay for the premium battle pass can expect to play as Ramattra when the hero releases along with Season 2 on December 6.
Overwatch 2 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.